The film is based on the real-life adventure of Aron Ralston, as documented in the book Between A Rock And A Hard Place. The extreme biker and climber met with a freak accident in 2003 when his hand got trapped under a boulder during a climbing expedition in Utah. The mountaineer spent five torturous days all by himself in this life-threatening situation before he could extricate himself and reach out for help.

Danny Boyle has evolved a film narrative that is individualistic, eclectic and hard to replicate. Like the other indie folks, Danny too takes up an ordinary story to re-tell it in an extraordinary fashion. So, if Slumdog Millionaire re-invents the Mumbai metaphor like never before, then 127 Hours transforms the adventure/disaster story into a hard-hitting steroid shot.

Technically, 127 Hours is a one-man, one-line story. Adventurist Aron Ralston gets trapped under a bolder in uninhabited canyon country and remains stuck for five days with a video camera, a bit of rope, a cheap knife and a fast depleting water flask. But the genius of Boyle transforms this simple, one-dimensional human survival story into a nerve-wracking drama that never lets you leave the edge of the chair from the very first shot. So what if the film opens with Aron having harmless fun, diving and swimming with two pretty young strangers in the deserted landscape. You know there’s danger lurking behind the next boulder. The major part of the film transpires in a static situation: Ralston stuck in a straight jacket with a bolder that refuses to move even an inch. But the experience is completely dynamic. There, in those expedient circumstances, our hero reminisces about his past, introspects on his relationships, fantasies about love, imagines what he would have done at the Scooby-Do do that he was invited for, plans out his future and even holds a radio talk that is essentially a self-flagellation session. But more than all this, he utters the most important lesson he’s learnt. Never buy a Chinese knife, even if it comes cheap, with a flashlight included. The knife’s no good, neither at chipping the boulder nor at cutting bone! Hilarious.

The film is a high-spirited salute to the indomitable human spirit and a grand testament to courage and true grit. Chilling, thrilling and horrifying too, 127 Hours is enthralling cinema.

Will Smith shines inThe Pursuit of Happyness ,a rags-to-riches tale about love, family, and pursuing the American Dream.

Smith portrays Christopher Gardner, a salesman struggling to make ends meet for his wife and son. As the family’s financial problems mount, his wife caves under the pressure and abandons him and their son.

Gardner’s luck goes from bad to worse as he and his son are evicted from their home and must survive on the streets of San Francisco. The father and son are forced to move from place to place seeking shelter wherever they can find it, even spending one night in a subway bathroom.

Things start looking up for Gardner when he applies for an internship with a stock brokerage firm. Though the internship is unpaid, one of the 20 interns will be chosen to stay with the company full-time. The ambitious salesman battles insurmountable odds to make himself stand out from his competitors in the hopes of landing the position.

Smith and his real-life son Jaden bring an emotional depth to the characters they play.

He tackled the role with a determined precision . Though most scenes in the film have a very solemn feel, Smith’s cautious optimism and ambitious nature make us want to root for him to succeed. In a role that could have easily been played syrupy-sweet, Smith instead chooses to let his raw emotions shine through adding a layer of realism.

His son, Jaden, proves to be a natural as well. Portraying a child whose life and economic background is so completely opposite from his own doesn’t seem to be a challenge for the young actor. He seems to have a true understanding of the character’s emotional state and expresses it with ease.

While the story is a moving tale about a father’s love for his son and working hard to achieve dreams, it is more than that.Pursuit of Happynessis also a emotional portrayal of the problem of homelessness in our society. Perhaps what makes the film so powerful is that it is based on a true story. The problems that Gardner faces are problems faced by many in our society every day.

It is a touching fictional portrayal of a problem that is all too real. This is not a film that you will quickly forget.

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